Sidecarcross German Championship, Aichwald: Peter/Zimmermann are German Champions

Whilst the starting grids for the most recent German Championship races were fairly small, the event in Aichwald, Swabia, saw a reunion with some heroes of days gone by. Among those on the starting grid were Marcel Faustmann and Max Frech, the 2017 German runners-up. In 2022, Faustmann finished third in the German Championship – with Julian Zimmermann as his sidecar passenger. Furthermore, in glorious summer weather, Tobias Garhammer and Michael Klooz, Christian Sieber and Matthias Klunzinger, as well as Tobias Hertfelder and Bruno Kälin, made guest appearances. And leading the way, Tim Prümmer and Patrick Schneider took the opportunity to train for the upcoming GP weekend in Straßbessenbach. A tough track awaits the riders there too.

However, the focus of the racing action at the German Championship final was on the title decider. Adrian Peter and Julian Zimmermann needed – assuming their pursuers won a race – nothing more than a fourteenth-place finish. That would have secured them the German Championship crown, given a tie on points and a five-to-three advantage in race wins. But such mathematical calculations became irrelevant after the first race, as the favourites crossed the chequered flag in second place behind the World Championship bronze medallists, who had got off to a perfect start. This meant the pair from Hesse were able to celebrate the first German Championship title of their careers. This was particularly gratifying for Adrian Peter, who had more or less narrowly missed out on the greatest success of his long career in 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Leon Hofmann and Leon Freygang had already secured the runners-up spot before the final, whilst Patrick Hengster and Justin Blume were also guaranteed the German Championship bronze. So the only thing left to decide was fourth and fifth place. Here, Noah and Jannik Häcker managed to overtake David Schellmann and Ben Gutekunst by finishing eighth in the first race.

Prümmer and Schneider won the second race once again. However, as the engine began to lose oil due to a crack in the crankcase, they withdrew from the race to prevent further damage. This cleared the way for the newly crowned German champions to secure both the race and the day’s victory. The new runners-up also retired after four laps. The foot injury Freygang had sustained the previous Saturday was increasingly hampering him. Having got off to a good start, Hengster/Blume held on to second place and finished the day’s racing in second place overall, ahead of Niels Hendrickx/Tayim Kaethoven. The Häcker brothers ultimately secured victory in the long-distance battle for fourth place in the German Championship.

Apart from Christian Sieber, who was unable to compete, the aforementioned one-off teams performed remarkably well. Had they been regular entrants, they would certainly have added considerably more excitement to this German Championship.

It remains to be added that Rosalie Ziller, with Philipp Wächter in the sidecar, managed to hold on to sixth place in the German Championship. This makes her the first woman to finish in the top ten as a rider since the sidecar German Championship began. As a co-driver, Celina Jahn achieved this from 2023 to 2025 alongside Patrick Hengster.

Tied on points, Nick Uhlig/Philipp Oettel and Joshua Torge/Florian Plettke narrowly missed out on the top 10. Having made a good start to the season, Uhlig was forced to end his campaign early after sustaining a forearm fracture at the German Championship race in Schopfheim.

The top German teams will be in action at the second of the three home Grands Prix this coming weekend in Straßbessenbach (18–19 July). Prümmer and Schneider arrive in third place in the World Championship standings. Last year, Tim Prümmer and Jarno Steegmans finished 8th and 2nd there. The supporting programme includes two races for the ADAC Sidecarcross Clubsport Cup (30 entries) on Saturday and two races for the MSJ Kids Sidecarcross Championship on Sunday. Further information: msc-strassbessenbach.de.

Results of the Motocross Sidecar German Championship, Aichwald/Germany:

Round 1: 1. Prümmer/Schneider (D/A), VMC-AMS. 2. Peter/Zimmermann (D), VMC-Husqvarna. 3. Hengster/Blume (D), VMC-KTM. 4. Hofmann/Freygang (D), VMC-Mega. 5. Faustmann/Frech (D), VMC-Zabel. 6. Garhammer/Klooz (Germany), VMC-Zabel. 7. N. Hendrickx/Kaethoven (Belgium), VMC-Mega. 8. N. Häcker/J. Häcker (Germany), VMC-Zabel. 9. Seifert/Brümmer (D), VMC-KTM. 10. Bareiß/Zaiss (D), VMC-KTM. 11. D. Schellmann/Gutekunst (D), VMC-Zabel. 12. Torge/Plettke (D), WSP-Mega. 13. Günther/Böhme (D), VMC-KTM. 14. Hertfelder/Kälin (D/CH), WSP-Husqvarna. 15. Gloor/M. Betschart (CH), VMC. 16. Dörr/Schwierz (D), VMC-KTM. 17. U. Kutschke/T. Kutschke (D), WSP-Zabel. 18. Bossert/Decker (D), WSP-Zabel. 19. Stupacher/Franzke (D), VMC-Zabel. 20. Ziller/Wächter (D), WSP-KTM.

Race 2: 1. Peter. 2. Hengster. 3. Hendrickx. 4. Faustmann. 5. Häcker. 6. Garhammer. 7. Bareiß. 8. Schellmann. 9. Torge. 10. Hertfelder. 11. Seifert. 12. Günther. 13. Gloor. 14. Ziller. 15. Bossert. 16. Kutschke. 17. Staud/Bandel (D), VMC-Zabel. 18. Stupacher. 19. Dörr. 20. Axmann/J. Meyer (D), VMC-KTM.

DM final standings after 14 races:

1. Peter 324 points. 2. Hofmann 267. 3. Hengster 245. 4. Häcker 177. 5. Schellmann 173. 6. Ziller 123. 7. Seifert 108. 8. Hoormann 103. 9. Hendrickx 101. 10. Karsunke 92.